Viking Saga: How did you decide that you wanted to work for the Blue Jays?
Alex Chambers: I’ve always wanted to work in baseball, but I didn’t really know what careers in baseball were, so in my undergrad, I spent a lot of time exploring my passions. I really enjoyed physics, I also set up a few different shows on the radio station. Eventually, I created my own version of advanced scouting on other teams. While I was helping with the basketball team. I was able to create a program that gave us information about the other teams before we played them. That project was what really opened my eyes to what I wanted to do as a career.
VS: What is your favorite part of your job?
AC: I love being a part of the breakthrough moments with players. It’s a really long season, as they play 162 games. To see them get to a point when everything just clicks, I think that’s such a rewarding part of my job. Obviously, seeing them succeed on the field as well is amazing. Also, seeing them playing the type of baseball that we’ve really tried to instill in the minor league system. We really emphasize being a good teammate, and then some of those softer skills that aren’t at the forefront of baseball.
VS: Does your job ever get tiring? What do you do in those situations?
AC: Yeah, as I alluded to, baseball is a really long season. Burnout is definitely real and happens for sure, but it hasn’t been unmanageable because everyone here cares about getting players better, and everyone is so passionate about being good colleagues. If someone is struggling, we all try to help each other out and it keeps everyone going.
VS: What advice would you give to students looking to go into the sports field of work?
AC: Before working in baseball, I didn’t realize how many career paths are available. There’s the player facing role that I’m in, but there are also other roles like in media, finance, and law. There are so many different roles that are available that I didn’t even realize going into it. I’m really glad that I studied physics because I didn’t know what to study to get to baseball, but I knew that I really enjoyed physics. I think that it is really important to follow the things that you are passionate about and apply them to whatever sport you want to go into.
